Wishin’ And Hopin’

Not to get too Dusty Springfield on y’all, but the S.C. Department of Transportation is wishin’ and hopin’ and thinkin’ and prayin’ … that a federal bailout for the states is forthcoming.

How come?

Well, according to officials at the agency, they’ve got $850 million in infrastructure projects locked and loaded in the event the manna should come from Washington.

From SC Biz:

Nearly $850 million in state infrastructure projects are ready to be contracted if the federal government sends stimulus funds to the state, including $200 million in projects in Lexington, Richland, Calhoun and Sumter counties, according to the S.C. Department of Transportation.

If approved, the stimulus could put about 3,000 highway contractors back to work across the state, said Sammy Hendrix, an S.C. representative for the Carolinas Association of General Contractors.

The projects have not been prioritized and nothing has been set in stone, Michael Covington of the S.C. DOT noted.

“I’m hearing that, if there is a stimulus, the work has to be put to contract quickly, possibly within 180 days,” Covington said. “All we’ve been asked to do is estimate what we’d be able to put to contract.”

Hold on to y’alls hats, but infrastructure is actually one of the few things we think government should do – along with law enforcement and … um … uhh …

Wait … we’re thinking … it’ll come to us …